MANILA---The appointment of German coach Hans Michael Weiss as coach of the national team has the full backing of the Philippine Football Federation.

PFF president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta yesterday said the decision to replace Simon McMenemy was justified because of Weiss’ credentials and the English coach’s lack of a coaching certificate needed for him to be eligible to coach for the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup.

A coach needs an equivalent of a “B” license to be eligible to handle a national side in an AFC tournament. McMenemy doesn’t have the equivalent of a “B” coaching license from UEFA, the European football governing body.

Azkals manager Dan Palami announced the hiring of Weiss Saturday night, after a three-day visit to Frankfurt where he was able to secure an assistance package from the German Football Association (DFB).

Palami said the DFB had recommended the hiring of Weiss, who was coach of Rwanda’s Under-17 side while serving as the national federation’s technical director.

“We wanted to maximize the support from the DFB,” said Palami, who has apologized to McMenemy for announcing the decision without informing him earlier.

Palami was supposed to talk to McMenemy before making the announcement, but news of the new coach leaked all over soacial networking sites, forcing the team manager to announce the hiring of Weiss on national TV.

A reliable source said the Philippines will be receiving a grant of 500,000 euros from the DFB.

“Any aid for Philippine football is welcome,” Araneta said.

Araneta said with the new coach in place, the Azkals should already start preparing for the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying series against Mongolia next month.

"The PFF has the full backing of our national team manager who has been instrumental in bringing the Azkals to where they are now,” said Araneta. “Dan Palami knows what’s best for the team.”

Araneta also expressed confidence that Weiss, a native of Dennenfels, Germany, who also had stints with the Chinese Football Association and internships at Real Madrid in Spain, Arsenal in England and River Plate and FC Kaiserslautern in Germany, can take the team to greater heights.

"We leave it up to the new coach of our team,” Araneta said. “I think that the new coach has good credentials. I think he can do a much better job.”